I L ; K 


or) 


f 

rA 


-J. 


LL  foods  are  of  greater  or  les- 
ser importance  to  the  com- 
munity, hut  t is;  o rJej t ha t 

stands  odfe  far’  beyond  all 
and  that  one  Js  Jmilk > ; r There 

7 * j ■>  > 

two  reasons  thisVis  tfaeJ:  First, 

it  is  a complete  food,;  j*]  qdntai^s;sijl  .of 
the  necessary  food  ion^titbents-^thbse 
that  supply  heat,  provide  for  growth, 
and  enable  the  body  to  do  work.  Sec- 
ond, it  constitutes  (or  should  do  so)  the 
exclusive  food  of  those  infants  who 
may  not  be  nourished  in  the  natural 
way,  but  are  brought  up  on  the  bottle. 
For  the  very  young  there  is  nothing 
that  can  properly  be  substituted  for  it, 
although  the  makers  of  many  patented 
foods  would  have  us  believe  otherwise. 


Composition  of  Milk 

Milk  contains  fat  in  the  form  of 
very  small  globules  that  cannot  be 
seen  without  a microscope ; they  rise 

P \Ac1rJb  \ 


to  the  top  when  milk  is  allowed  to 
stand  without  being  disturbed,  and 
then  they  constitute  the  important  part 
of  the  cream.  When  this  is  churned 
in  the  usual  way,  or  beaten  in  a bowl 
with  a fork,  or  shaken  for  a time  in  a 
Hoftlej  the  liJ;tl£.fat  globules  are  brought 
t 1 nio  JStpall  t masses  that  can  be 
; seen  mthput^a  microscope ; and  these 
.J&difie  together yilito;  JtiJl  larger  ones, 

. which?  .when*  properly  worked,  be- 

s : 

A second  variable  substance  con- 
tained in  milk  is  a peculiar  kind  of 
sugar  known  as  lactose,  or  sugar  of 
milk.  When  this  is  separated  from 
whey  in  the  form  of  a white  powder, 
it  will  keep  indefinitely  without  spoil- 
ing; but  in  solution  (as  it  is  in  milk) 
it  becomes  changed  very  quickly,  and 
gives  rise  to  an  acid  (lactic  acid)  which 
accumulates  to  a certain  point  and 
then  curdles  the  milk.  This  curdling 
or  4 4 souring”  of  milk  comes  on  much 
more  quickly  under  some  conditions 
than  under  others ; and  the  sooner  it 
occurs  after  the  milk  leaves  the  cow, 
the  surer  we  may  be  that  somebody 


2 


has  been  guilty  of  carelessness  either  in 
drawing  the  milk,  or  handling  it,  or 
taking  care  of  it.  This  matter  we  will 
consider  later. 

A third  very  important  part  of  the 
food  material  in  milk  is  commonly 
spoken  of  as  the  cheesy  matter,  or 
curd.  This  consists  of  a number  of 
compounds  which  are  closely  related 
to  white  of  egg  and  the  albuminous 
principles  of  meat  and  fish.  The  prin- 
cipal one  is  known  as  casein,  and  the 
next  in  importance  is  lactalbumin. 
They  constitute  about  one  third  by 
weight  of  ordinary  cheese. 

Next  we  have  a small  amount  of  salts 
of  various  kinds  which  are  useful  to  the 
body  in  various  ways,  and  especially  in 
the  formation  of  bone.  All  of  the  sub- 
stances mentioned  make  up  about  thir- 
teen per  cent  of  the  whole ; that  is  to 
say,  a hundred  pounds  of  milk  (and 
that  is  less  than  fifty  quarts)  will  yield 
about  thirteen  pounds  of  solid  food,  the 
other  eighty-seven  pounds  being  water. 
These  thirteen  pounds  may  be  divided 
as  follows  : butter,  four  pounds  ; sugar, 
five  pounds ; dry  curds,  three  pounds 


3 


and  five  ounces ; and  salts,  eleven 
ounces.  There  is  no  food  which  is  so 
admirably  suited  to  fill  the  needs  of  the 
body  as  milk.  The  body  needs  a cer- 
tain daily  amount  of  fat,  of  sugar  or 
starchy  matter  (either  will  do) , and  of 
albuminous  substances  and  salts ; and 
if  it  were  necessary  to  do  so,  one  could 
subsist  on  milk  alone  without  having  to 
consume  an  enormous  volume  of  it 
daily;  but  this  cannot  be  said  of  any 
other  single  food.  Meat  alone  would 
provide  neither  sugar  nor  starch,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  fish  and  eggs  ; wheat 
or  any  other  cereal  would  provide  all 
of  the  substances  needed,  but  in  order 
to  get  enough  of  one  of  them  (the  fat) 
it  would  be  necessary  to  eat  a very  large 
excess  of  all  the  others.  Hence  it  is 
that  bread  naturally  calls  for  butter,  and 
meat  or  fish  for  potatoes  (starch)  . 

Importance  of  Wholesome  Milk 

Milk  is  important  chiefly  on  account 
of  the  needs  of  infants  and  very  young 
children.  Older  children  and  adults 
can  get  along  without  milk,  if  neces- 
sary, since  their  digestive  organs,  in  a 


4 


state  of  health,  can  take  care  of  anything 
that  is  fit  to  eat ; but  with  infants  it  is  a 
different  story.  Many  ignorant  mothers 
give  meat  and  vegetables,  bread,  cake, 
and  fruit  to  very  young  children,  even 
only  a few  months  old,  but  it  is  highly 
improper  to  do  so,  and  the  practice  is 
one  that  doubtless  causes  much  sickness 
and  many  deaths.  Even  milk  itself 
cannot  be  given  safely  to  very  young 
infants  without  being  thinned  with 
water  and  made  sweeter  by  the  addition 
of  sugar,  in  order  to  resemble  more 
closely  mother’s  milk;  hence  in  many 
large  cities  and  towns,  the  preparation 
of  what  is  known  as  44  Modified  Milk” 
or  u Humanized  Milk”  has  become  an 
important  industry. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  milk  is 
the  most  important  of  foods,  especially 
for  infants.  It  is,  or  should  be,  their 
only  food  ; and  this  being  the  case,  they 
are  entitled  to  have  it  provided  for  them 
in  a condition  that  will  cause  them  no 
injury.  Unfortunately,  however,  it  is 
a fact  that  a very  large  proportion  of 
the  deaths  of  infants  and  of  very  young 
children  is  due  to  forms  of  food  poison- 


5 


ing  which  we  know  under  the  familiar 
terms  “ summer  diarrhoea,”  “cholera 
infantum,”  and  “infantile  diarrhoea.” 
Deaths  from  diarrhoeal  diseases  among 
infants  fed  at  the  breast  are  far  less 
common  than  among  the  bottle-fed. 
Indeed,  it  is  believed  that  more  than 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  deaths  among 
children  under  one  year  of  age  are  of 
those  who  are  not  nursed  at  the  breast. 
Now,  why  is  this  so,  and  what  can  be 
done  to  prevent  it? 

The  reason  for  this  great  mortality  is 
that  all  milk  is  likely  to  undergo  changes 
which  may  make  it  a dangerous  food 
unless  proper  precautions  are  taken  to 
prevent  them,  and  that  these  precau- 
tions are  very  commonly  neglected. 
Among  these  changes,  as  was  said 
above,  is  one  that  affects  the  milk 
sugar,  which  begins  to  diminish  in 
amount  very  soon  after  the  milk  is 
drawn,  and  forms  an  acid.  This  change 
is  due  to  the  presence  of  certain  forms 
of  bacteria  that  find  milk  an  ideal  sub- 
stance in  which  to  grow.  Several  hun- 
dred different  kinds  of  bacteria  have 
been  found  in  milk,  the  great  majority 


6 


of  which  are  believed  to  do  the  drinker 
no  harm ; some  attack  the  sugar  and 
form  acid,  some  attack  the  other  con- 
stituents, especially  the  cheesy  mat- 
ters ; but  certain  kinds  are  believed  to 
form  poisonous  matters  while  they  grow 
and  multiply ; and  others,  of  a natu- 
rally dangerous  nature,  multiply  rapidly 
and  make  their  mischief  after  reaching 
the  stomach. 

Sources  of  Bacteria  in  Milfe 

Where  do  these  bacteria  get  into  the 
milk,  and  why  can  they  not  be  kept 
out?  The  vast  majority  do  not  get  into 
the  milk  at  all ; they  have  never  been 
anywhere  else,  for  they  grow  there ! 
It  is  this  way  : In  common  life,  bacteria 
are  everywhere  ; some  are  harmful,  but 
the  great  majority  are  useful.  They 
exist  in  the  purest  drinking  water,  in 
the  soil,  and  in  the  air ; they  are  on 
your  hands  and  faces  and  all  other  parts 
of  your  bodies  ; they  are  in  your  clothes 
and  on  everything  that  you  take  into 
your  hands ; they  are  in  every  layer  of 
dust  that  you  see  on  the  furniture  and 
books;  but  mostly  they  do  no  harm. 


7 


The  bowel  discharges  of  man  and  ani- 
mals contain  bacteria  in  numbers  be- 
yond one’s  comprehension,  and  among 
the  species  present  there  may  be  some 
that  are  capable  of  causing  disease. 

Now  a cow  is  naturally  an  unclean 
animal ; she  lies  in  her  own  filth  in  a 
contented  sort  of  way,  and  when  she 
gets  up  she  makes  no  effort  to  remove 
it  from  her  hair,  as  a cat  would  do,  but 
allows  it  to  dry  on.  A cow  stable  can- 
not be  kept  clean  like  a parlor  or  bed- 
room, no  matter  how  much  one  may 
try ; but  it  can  be  kept  in  a decent  con- 
dition with  a reasonable  effort.  Un- 
fortunately, the  average  cow  stable  is 
not  kept  very  clean.  In  addition,  it  is 
often  a very  dusty  place,  especially 
when  hay  is  brought  in  or  thrown  down 
from  the  loft.  The  farm  hand  who 
milks  the  cow  does  other  work  at 
other  times  in  the  same  clothes.  Or- 
dinarily, he  is  not  dressed  in  clothing 
in  which  he  would  care  to  go  to  church 
or  to  attend  any  form  of  social  enter- 
tainment ; it  is  not  scrupulously  clean. 
The  milk  pail  and  cans  may  have  been 
airing  all  day  outside  the  barn,  or  they 


8 


3 3 »* 

3 3 » 'I  » s » * > 

D 3333  ,,  33*3 

3 J 3 5 3 » ) 3 3 3 

333  3 33*  3 > 3 33 


may  have  been  standi nevar*al 
hand.  Now  let  us  >the -pfo'cess 

of  milking  a cow  as  wje  jiiia^°se6  it, 
carried  out  in  some  placed  ^T»bJ® *od\¥S, 
fresh  from  the  pasture,  are  driven  into 
the  barn,  and  each  goes  to  her  accus- 
tomed place ; there  is  dust  in  the  air, 
and  their  entrance  adds  to  its  amount. 
They  stand  switching  their  tails  against 
their  sides,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
caked  with  mud  and  other  filth,  and 
more  dust  is  dislodged  into  the  air. 
The  “hired  man”  now  picks  up  his 
pail,  pushes  his  way  between  two  of 
the  cows,  puts  down  his  stool,  takes 
his  seat,  and  is  ready  to  begin.  He 
lets  the  first  few  jets  of  milk  go  to 
waste,  because  his  experience  has  taught 
him  that  its  admission  to  the  pail  will 
perhaps  bring  on  souring  much  more 
quickly ; or  perhaps  he  uses  it  as  a 
lubricant  for  his  hands.  Soon,  he  is 
milking  vigorously  into  the  pail,  and 
with  every  motion  of  his  hands,  and 
with  every  pressure  from  him  against 
any  part  of  the  cow,  hairs  laden  with 
bacteria  are  dropping  into  the  pail. 
Meanwhile,  every  switch  of  the  tail  is 


9 


seuding'thefry  at)roi|t  by  thousands.  Fi- 
nd! fy^  the  p^ofceScS  is  finished  and  the 
milker  begins  on  another.  As  fast  as 
the-p&il  rs  filled  it  is  strained  into  cans, 
which  eventually  are  placed  somewhere 
where  their  contents  may  cool  off. 
Now  what  is  the  condition  of  that  milk 
likely  to  be?  The  pail  contained  bac- 
teria from  the  start ; every  hair  that  fell 
into  it  during  milking  brought  hun- 
dreds and  thousands ; every  particle  of 
dried  excrement  that  gained  access 
brought  in  still  more ; many  came  in 
with  the  dust  of  the  air  and  from  the 
person  and  clothing  of  the  milker. 
Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  the  milk  is  well 
planted  with  bacteria  of  various  kinds, 
harmful,  perhaps,  as  well  as  harmless. 
Now,  bacteria  are  plants  of  exceedingly 
rapid  growth,  and  warm  milk  is  an  ex- 
cellent soil  for  them.  They  increase 
and  multiply  with  almost  inconceivable 
rapidity,  especially  if  the  milk  stays 
warm.  If  the  milk  is  chilled  at  once, 
however,  and  kept  below  450  Fahren- 
heit, the  multiplication  of  bacteria  is 
checked,  and  thus  milk  which  is  dirty 
may  not  increase  its  number  of  con- 


10 


tained  bacteria  very  materially.  On  the 
other  hand,  milk  which  is  as  clean  as 
possible  when  drawn  (that  is  to  say, 
from  clean  cows  kept  in  a clean  stable, 
and  milked  by  clean  men  into  clean 
pails) , but  which  is  allowed  merely  to 
cool  down  naturally  to  the  temperature 
of  the  air,  may,  at  the  end  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  contain  vastly  more  numer- 
ous bacteria  than  a dirty  milk  properly 
cooled  and  stored,  so  great  is  the  favor- 
ing influence  of  warmth  on  growth. 

How  Can  Milk  be  Kept  from  Be- 
coming Unwholesome? 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  the 
above  that  all  milk  and  all  milk-farms 
are  dirty,  but  it  is  proper  to  say  that  no 
milk  can  be  absolutely  free  from  bac- 
teria, even  from  the  cleanest  of  places. 
The  greater  the  degree  of  cleanliness  and 
the  greater  the  care  in  cooling  and  stor- 
ing, the  smaller  the  number  of  bacteria 
in  the  milk  when  it  arrives  in  the  home. 
Temperature  is  of  the  very  greatest  im- 
portance ; and  milk  should,  therefore, 
be  kept  cool  from  the  time  of  pro- 


duction  until  it  is  wanted  for  use. 
Cleanliness,  also,  is  as  imperative  in 
the  home  as  at  the  farms  and  during: 
transportation,  and  the  family  supply 
should  be  kept  in  clean  vessels  in  clean 
refrigerators. 

If  all  milk  used  as  such  for  food 
were  clean  at  the  start ; if  it  were  kept 
clean  and  cool  until  needed ; if  it  were 
never  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with 
unclean  nursing  bottles  and  nipples, 
the  infant  mortality  would  diminish 
tremendously. 

In  some  cities  the  intelligent  part  of 
the  public  refuses  to  buy  milk  of  any 
dealer  who  cannot  produce  a certificate 
that  his  product  is  from  clean  cows  on 
clean  farms,  and  that  the  number  of 
bacteria  in  a certain  volume  is  less  than 
that  established  as  a limit  by  the  au- 
thority that  supplies  the  certificates  and 
makes  the  periodical  examinations.  If 
there  are  young  children,  and  especially 
bottle-fed  infants,  in  the  family,  it  is 
far  better  and  safer  to  buy  milk  of  only 
that  class  of  dealers.  Parents  should 
bear  in  mind  that  dirty  milk  is  a dan- 
gerous food,  and  that  milk  originally 


12 


clean  but  not  properly  cared  for  can  be 
equally  dangerous  to  the  health  of  in- 
fants and  young  children.  They  should 
insist  upon  having  clean  milk  ; and  hav- 
ing  got  it,  should  keep  it  in  a separate 
compartment  in  a clean  refrigerator. 
On  no  account  should  one  use  nursing 
bottles  with  long  tubes,  or  feed  any 
milk  that  is  stale  or  warmed  over. 

Many  physicians  and  others  recom- 
mend sterilizing  milk  by  heating  it 
nearly  to  boiling,  in  order  to  lessen  the 
danger  of  diarrhoeal  disease.  This  is 
certainly  better  than  using  dirty  milk 
just  as  it  is,  but  very  young  children  do 
not  always  do  well  on  sterilized  milk  ; 
in  fact,  they  sometimes  appear  to  suffer 
injury  from  it.  Better  than  all  is  clean, 
pure  milk  that  needs  no  sterilization  to 
be  made  fit  for  use. 

Adulteration  of  Milk 

It  is  unfortunate  that  some  of  those 
who  deal  in  milk  are  not  content  with 
the  fair  profit  that  they  can  properly 
gain  from  its  sale,  but  seek  to  increase 
it  in  dishonest  ways.  The  commonest 
method  of  adulteration  is  the  addition 


13 


of  water ; this  lowers  the  nutritive 
value  of  the  milk,  and  makes  it  pos- 
sible that  a child  may  be  partly  starved, 
although  getting  the  proper  volume 
of  food.  The  next  commonest  is  the 
removal  of  the  cream,  which  brings  a 
higher  price  than  milk,  and  the  sale 
of  the  skimmed  milk  as  whole  milk. 
Here  again  comes  in  the  possibility 
that  a child  may  undergo  fat-starva- 
tion, since  its  food  may  contain  prac- 
tically no  fat ; and  fat,  as  we  know, 
is  a very  important  food  for  young  and 
old  alike.  Other,  less  common,  forms 
of  adulteration  are  the  addition  of  yel- 
low coloring  matters  that  cause  watered 
or  skimmed  milk  to  look  rich,  and  of 
chemical  preservatives,  which  enable 
the  dealer  to  sell  stale  milk,  that  other- 
wise would  turn  sour,  in  place  of  fresh 
milk.  It  is  commonly  thought  that 
much  of  the  milk  sold  is  composed  of 
chalk  and  water,  but  that  is  quite  un- 
true, and,  indeed,  impossible ; for  chalk 
and  water  will  not  mix  any  better  than 
oil  and  water.  If  one  should  shake 
chalk  and  water  together  and  let  the 
mixture  stand,  all  the  chalk  would  set- 


tie  out  in  a few  minutes,  and  the  water 
would  be  as  clear  as  before. 

In  Massachusetts  we  have  a very 
strict  law  against  the  adulteration  of 
milk,  and  its  enforcement  is  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  the  Dairy  Bureau,  and  the 
local  inspectors  of  cities  and  towns. 
In  consequence  of  its  enforcement  with 
reasonable  severity,  the  milk  supply  of 
the  state  at  large  is  said  to  be  better 
than  that  of  any  other  state  in  the 
Union,  so  far  as  fraudulent  practices 
are  concerned. 


15 


V 


Health-Education  League 

113  Devonshire  Street  Boston 


The  Object  of  tKis  Society 

IS  to  spread  the  knqwledge  of  the  laws 
of  health  among  the  people  through  the 
circulation  of  a scientific  and  yet  popular 
health  literature,  also  through  suitable  lectures 
and  practical  talks  given  by  competent  persons 
in  schools,  churches,  clubs,  gymnasiums  and 
other  existing  institutions,  on  the  following  and 
kindred  topics : 

The  Causes  of  Disease,  and  their  prevention 
Warming  and  Ventilating  Cleanliness 

The  Selection  and  Preparation  of  Food 
Rational  Exercise 
Sleep,  Rest,  Recreation,  Etc. 

Membership.  — Members  are  entitled  to  a 
copy  of  each  of  the  publications  of  the  League 

fr'ee. 

The  annual  membership  fee  is  One  Dollar. 
Prospectus  and  membership  blank  will  be  sent 
on  application. 

The  Society  asks  for  your  sympathy  and  help. 


